MetLife Investment Management LLC Increases Position in Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR)

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Atkore Inc. (NYSE:ATKR) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,357 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 171 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Atkore were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in shares of Atkore by 87.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Atkore by 30.2% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 841 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atkore by 3,333.3% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 1,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Atkore by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Atkore by 88.5% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 887 shares in the last quarter.

Atkore Price Performance

ATKR stock opened at $63.73 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $61.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.17 and a beta of 2.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 3.03. Atkore Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.92 and a 1 year high of $183.46.

Atkore (NYSE:ATKR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.45. The business had revenue of $661.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $680.77 million. Atkore had a return on equity of 25.69% and a net margin of 12.42%. The business’s revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.12 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atkore Inc. will post 5.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atkore Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Atkore’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on ATKR shares. Loop Capital cut Atkore from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Atkore from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Atkore from $78.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Atkore from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atkore presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Mark F. Lamps sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $32,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,400. This represents a 1.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Atkore Company Profile

Atkore Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of electrical, mechanical, safety, and infrastructure products and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers conduits, cables, and installation accessories. It also designs and manufactures protection and reliability solutions for critical infrastructure, such as metal framing, mechanical pipe, perimeter security, and cable management.